(Audacy) The White Sox did well for themselves by acquiring A.J. Pollock last Friday to fill their glaring need for an outfielder.
But it appears it wasn't Pollock or bust for the White Sox.
The Detroit Tigers took another step in their effort to challenge Chicago in the AL Central by acquiring outfielder Austin Meadows in a trade with the Tampa Bay Rays on Monday. A hard-hitting 26-year-old under team control who can play corner outfield or be a designated hitter, Meadows will be a strong fit for Detroit this season and likely beyond. He had 27 homers and 106 RBIs in 142 games for the Rays last season.
Given how the Rays tend to operate, Meadows always seemed attainable for the right price. And Audacy MLB insider Jon Heyman shared Tuesday on the Mully & Haugh Show on 670 The Score that the White Sox had tried to trade for Meadows.
"(The Pollock trade) makes sense to me," Heyman said. "It seems like they needed a right fielder, and whenever I've talked about the White Sox's situation, I talked about the fact that they could've used one more outfielder. It could've been better if it was a left-handed batter. Austin Meadows, he just went to the Tigers, they tried for him. That would've made sense."
It's unclear what prevented Chicago from landing Meadows. Perhaps Tampa Bay didn't like the package being offered, or Meadows could've been a lower-priority target than Pollock. The White Sox traded reliever Craig Kimbrel straight up to the Dodgers to get Pollock in a deal that helped bolster a weakness for each team. The Rays would've likely had to take on more money in a Kimbrel-Meadows swap than they did in making the trade with the Tigers.
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